


Year Two: Development and More

by darkesky, timerise



Series: THE TREE [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Harry Potter - Freeform, Hogwarts, Marauders, jily, marauder era, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-21 20:30:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17649377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkesky/pseuds/darkesky, https://archiveofourown.org/users/timerise/pseuds/timerise
Summary: the boys are back in town





	1. Remus

Remus wasn’t lying when he went straight up to McGonagall and told her how excited he was to be back. He really could hardly wait! He hadn’t managed to find his friends on the train, so he just started his school reading early! He searched the Great Hall for his friends, finally locking eyes with Peter.

“Hey, Pete!” Remus ran over to give his friend a big hug.

Peter startled before grinning. “We were wondering where you were!”

“My section got unloaded late. And James, Sirius! How’ve you lads been?”

Sirius grinned brightly, shifting awkwardly on his seat. “Summer _sucked._ I can’t believe I’m saying this, but school is actually better.”

James flipped his floppy brown hair. “I spent _my_ summer with the _ladies._ What can I say? They can’t keep their hands off me.”

Remus smacked him with the book he had with him. Across the table, he heard a choking laugh. When he looked up, he made eye contact with Lily Evans, pressing her hand to her mouth as she lowered her goblet. Looking towards James, she rolled her eyes and laughed quietly amongst the other second-year Gryffindor girls.

Remus brightened up. “Hello Lily! How was your summer?”

“It was loads of fun. I forgot how much I missed the Muggle world. Telephones and televisions…” Lily sighed fondly.

Remus gasped. “My family has a telephone too!!”

“You should have said something before break! We could have called each other.” A bright grin immediately raced across her face.

Remus huffed. “We’ll have to remember that for winter break.”

Coughing dramatically, Sirius offered a lopsided smirk. _“Lame.”_

Remus rolled his eyes. “You’re just jealous because you don’t have a telephone.”

“We don’t need telephones!” Marlene brightly chirped from her side of the table. “Me and Sirius owled tons this summer!”

Remus made uncomfortable eye contact with Lily. “Splendid.”

“Oh, shush, Marl, nobody wants to hear about your summer romance.” Lily gently nudged her friend before shifting on her seat, fully committing herself to a conversation with one of the others. Marlene shrugged before doing the same.

Remus looked over at James to see his eyebrows furrowed. “You good there, mate?”

James blinked. “Fantastic. As usual. Now how about this dinner?”

After that, conversation seemed to come to a close. While occasionally, Sirius would kick Marlene under the table, and Remus noticed _every single time,_ there wasn’t much to discuss. Nobody wanted to know the details of everyone’s summer since it appeared everyone had a rather bland one. The chance to escape back to the commons room was a welcome relief.

-

James whooped with joy as he levitated his bags to slide under his bed. “The boys are back in town!”

“Finally,” groaned Peter as he set his stuff down. “I don’t think I could have handled anymore flirting from you three.”

Remus gasped. “Three? Excuse me? I think that was totally James and Sirius.”

“Mate, you were looking at Lily the same way James was,” Sirius announced.

“Oi, bet!” Remus protested. “Lily is my friend! James is the one that has it bad!”

James groaned. “I do _not_ like Lily Evans. Not even a little bit.” The whole room was silent then, just staring at James.

James flushed and ducked his head. “Okay. A bit, maybe.”

“It’s too bad Lily likes Snivellus too much,” lamented Sirius. He set down his trunk and kicked into place, sitting down on the edge of his bed. When James looked over, he smirked. “What? It’s _obvious.”_

“Lay off man, at least I’m not chasing after _Marlene,”_ James gave Sirius a pat on the back.

Sirius flinched at the touch and let out a low gasp. It took him a few seconds to regain his composure, and when he looked back at them, panic and tears were clearly shining in his eyes. Before any of them could say anything, he hurried into their bathroom and slammed shut the door.

Remus looked at the other two boys, who were looking at him expectantly. James, you’re his best friend!”

James nodded. “Yeah, but he responds to different than he does to you.” Remus chewed on his lip. “I… Okay.” He crossed their room to stand at the bathroom door. “Sirius?”

Remus chewed on his lip. “I… Okay.” He crossed their room to stand at the bathroom door. “Sirius?”

“Busy, haha.” The laugh took a hint of hysteria, and then he heard Sirius curse at himself. “Honestly, go back to talking about Lily. I prefer it, and it’s not like you need me around to do so.”

Remus put his forehead against the door. “No, we’re not gonna let this blow over. What happened, d’you fall down the stairs again?”

“Yep. There are just…” Sirius gasped raggedly. “A _lot_ of stairs back home, y’know?”

“No. That’s a lie. Sirius, can you please open the door? Please?”

“What? No. Go and check the floor plans of my house. I guarantee you there are stairs on it.” Sirius’s voice broke halfway through his joke.

“I don’t need to. Please, will you open the door? I’m getting worried.”

It took a few seconds before Sirius slowly dragged open the door. He stared at him for a few seconds before smiling weakly. “You can’t say anything, okay?”

“I won’t. Promise.” Remus stepped into the room, unsure whether the two others were supposed to follow. The second Remus fully stepped in, Sirius kicked shut the door and enchanted the lock, effectively answering his question.

Sirius looked up at him, hair hanging in his face. “You weren’t supposed to know. You can’t let _anyone_ know; Mother and Father would _kill_ them and then me. Or vice versa, I’m not really sure.”

Remus gently helped Sirius out of his shirt and turned him around to look at the bruises on his back. Mottled purple and blue, with tints of green here and there spanned his shoulders and upper back. Harsh red lines crossed his back, the tell-tale sign of a belt.

Remus felt his throat close up. “This looks like it really hurts.”

“It’s not that bad,” Sirius replied stiffly. “Look, I’m _serious._ This doesn’t matter, and you can’t tell McGonagall or Pomfrey. If my parents hear about it, they’ll send for your head, and you wouldn’t exactly be _safe.”_

Remus ran his fingers carefully along one of the lines. “But… you should have magic to help you heal, and none of us know that kind of stuff yet.”

“They’ll dig up your secrets to discredit you, and you have a pretty _big_ one,” Sirius insisted.

“Maybe then you’d be safe though! The-the authorities wouldn’t let them do this to you again. What’s the name for the French police? Interpol? Anyways, they’d have to step in and _you_ could be safe!”

“They’d _kill_ you.” Sirius shifted away from Remus, glowering at him the second he turned around. “They won’t kill me.”

Remus’s heart hurt. At least Sirius was at school now. He could decide the right thing to do later, nearer to when Sirius would be heading back home. Remus tapped Sirius’s cheek. “Hey, look at me. I really care because I don’t want you to get anymore hurt than you are. We’ll figure this out together, yeah?”

“There’s nothing to figure out. You won’t supposed to find out.” Despite his rough words, Sirius leaned into Remus’ touch, and he let out a gentle sigh.

“Well I did, and you gotta deal with me now. You don’t have to tell the others yet, and I won’t if you don’t want me to. But they would support you because we all care about you. Right?”

Sirius grinned sadly. “I can guarantee you James is listening at the door. I don’t really think I can keep this secret.”

James grunted from outside. “I am not.”

Remus smiled and shook his head. “We _gotta_ learn that Silencing charm. You wanna come out now?”

Sirius shrugged, wincing at the way the skin pulled at his wounds. “I dunno, there are a lot of _fun_ things we can do in here while those two awkwardly talk about Evans.”

Remus looked around. “Not really. This is our bathroom, I’d rather flood the girls’ one.” Remus realized he still had his hand on Sirius, _who was pleasantly warm,_ his brain unhelpfully supplied. He grabbed Sirius’s shirt from the floor and offered it to him.

“Promise you won’t say anything.” Sirius started buttoning his shirt up, carefully making sure the fabric didn’t rub too roughly. “Merlin, I need to go steal some bandages from Pomfrey.”

“I’ll come with,” Remus promised. He wasn’t ready to promise not to tell an adult, but he could definitely go with this.

Sirius gave him a look for a few seconds, clearly seeing the lack of a real promise, before shaking his head. “One day, you’re gonna get tired of being our mom, y’know. James is trying for the Quidditch team, and I can guarantee he’ll break curfew repeatedly.”

A groan escaped Remus’s mouth before he could stop it. “I’m sure. Ugh, that sucks. Whatever. I’ll make Peter take over at some point.”

“Aren’t you trying out too?” Sirius laughed. “Maybe you’ll become the troublemaker of the group.”

Remus had actually forgotten that he said he would. “I… Fine. I guess I will. And you?”

“Can’t. There’s only one locker room, and people would get suspicious if they saw… _This.”_ He vaguely waved at his body, and Remus suddenly wondered if there were more wounds hidden. The thought made his stomach hurt

Remus actually stomped his foot then. “Like hell am I letting you not try out for Quidditch because of your marks! Even if I have to hold a bloody towel to cover you while you change for every single practice and game. James can help. You’ve wanted this for so long!”

“Nah, Remy, give it up. Besides, Marlene said she wanted to try out, and I can go be a supportive whatever of you three.” Without leaving any room for arguing, Sirius unlocked the door and pressed out of the room. He paused and made meaningful eye contact with James, who just huffed and returned to his bed.

Peter looked up from his pillow. “You guys were in there for so long!” He whined.

“Wouldn’t want you to ruin the fun. I’m going to bed,” announced Sirius. With that, he slammed the curtains shut around his bed.

Remus smiled at James, who looked confused. “I think I’m making progress,” he declared quietly.


	2. Sirius

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you know who I fell in love with? Marlene McKinnon.

Their grades weren’t as good this year. The year felt like it hadn’t even truly  _ begun,  _ and their grades were slipping away. Sirius never did the best in school, partially because he couldn’t sit still that long and partially because it was  _ boring.  _ James occupied his life with notions of Lily and Quidditch. Peter didn’t really start his homework unless prompted and Remus…

“How did I do better than you?” Sirius marvelled, staring at the quiz Flitwick surprised them with.

Remus rubbed at his eye with the heel of his hand. “I dunno mate, you’re really smart.”

“That’s a  _ lie.  _ You know I’m rubbish at the reading stuff. And this was a quiz over the  _ reading.”  _ While he felt bad for pushing it, Remus certainly didn’t know when to stop either. He still hadn’t let up on the whole ‘Go to Madame Pomfrey’ idea. And Sirius was not, in any way, shape, or form, ever visiting the Hospital Wing to deal with his own mistakes.

“Yeah, I uh… Musta not gone over it enough. Too busy… Uh, chasin’ women.” He laughed to himself at that, wincing as he bonked his knee on his desk.

Sirius stared at him. “Have you ever chased a woman in your  _ life?” _

“Yes. My mother. She took my favorite shoes away because they were too small.”

“Okay, I appreciate the joke, but you just ruined it. That…” He shook his head and wrinkled his nose at him. “You’re getting kicked out of our friend group because that was  _ disgusting.  _ Hey, James! C’mere!”

James vaulted over a set of desks, impressively nimble, especially with Flitwick protesting loudly. What could the midget even do to them? “Yes, dear friend?”

“How’d you do?” Sirius pretended not to notice Remus covering his own score with his arm. “You know you gotta keep your grades up for the team.”

“I got a solid seventy-five percent!” James exclaimed happily. Remus flushed and looked away. Even James had done better.

Sirius glared down at the paper as if it personally wronged him. “Well, it doesn’t matter. It’s just a stupid quiz anyway.”

James looked wounded. “Oh come on, it’s better than my average! Did you do worse than me, Sirius? Is that what’s wrong?” James laughed and Remus looked somewhat mortified.

He spoke up then. “No, we were just talking about how I got… confused on the section about the history of pronunciation.”

“I’m gonna go fight this grade,” Sirius said abruptly, getting to his feet.

Remus yanked him back down by his hand. “We’ve talked about this, you can’t square up to an abstract concept.”

“Yeah, but  _ Flitwick  _ isn’t an abstract concept.” He shot Remus a smarmy grin.

Remus rolled his eyes. “Don’t you even dare.” Flitwick came around then, shooing James back to his desk and passing out the work for that day. 

Sirius noticed throughout the class, that Remus spent more time looking anxiously out the window and staring off into space than he did actually working. Chewing his lip, he tried to settle the nervous way his stomach flipped. He never spent this much time  _ worrying  _ about someone. Everyone else he knew seemed to handle themselves just fine, and even though Remus could  _ probably  _ handle himself, he didn’t want him to handle it alone.

So, the second class was done, he sprinted to Flitwick’s desk before Remus could stop him. “I need to talk with you!”

Remus protested from his seat. “Hey!”

“The grades on this quiz makes  _ no  _ sense,” he continued, lowering his voice so Remus couldn’t hear the extent of the conversation. Sirius was about to do something Remus  _ probably  _ wouldn’t appreciate now, but he was certain in the long run, would paid off. Besides, Remus needed the good grades to make the team since he couldn’t.

Flitwick looked up from his papers. “Why do you say so?”

“Because I cheated.” Well, there was no turning back.

Flitwick startled. “Come again?”

“When we were taking this test, you had to step out of the room to go talk to some other professor. So I switched my test with Remus’ because I just, I  _ really needed  _ a good grade. But now I feel awful ‘cuz I ruined his grade average and… Well, I cheated, and Remus didn’t deserve to take the fall.” The words fell neatly out of his mouth, and Sirius almost believed himself.

Flitwick thought for a moment. “Thank you for telling me. I’m disappointed in you, Sirius. I do admit, I was confused when Remus nearly failed… You understand I will have to fail your score because of this?”

“Eh. I deserve it.” Sirius shrugged half-heartedly. Maybe it’d drop his grade out of the ‘qualifying for Quidditch’ range. Then, Remus and James couldn’t keep insisting he should try out. And there was no way James wouldn’t believe this little… Lie. Remus and Sirius were the only people who needed to know.

Flitwick sighed. “Thank you for telling me. Now shoo!”

Remus stared at Sirius as he returned. “What did you do?”

“Nothing.” He offered a mischievous smile and a wink.

“Oh no. Sirius…  _ What  _ did you  _ do?” _

“I just… Gave your grade a gentle nudge in the right direction.” Besides, what did it matter if Sirius failed? He already disappointed his parents, no matter what he did, and it wasn’t like any teacher would be surprised if he didn’t do well in class. Remus had two loving parents and monthly excursions which  _ had  _ to be more painful than he was letting up.

Remus swallowed thickly. “I… well, thank you. You didn’t have to.”

“I think I did.” He nudged Remus affectionately. “Besides, you totally would have aced that quiz. The only reason I did well was because you were gone last night and I was… I couldn’t fall asleep, y’know?”

“You couldn’t sleep because I was gone?” Remus asked quietly, yellow tinted eyes looking more awake and sincere than they had all day. 

Sirius shuffled his feet and looked determinedly at the ground. “I think it was unrelated.” (aka not at all but like, yeah)[nfjnjnfdj]

Remus smiled anyways. “I would have liked another night to study, you’re right. Thank you again. Means a lot to me.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“It is to me.”

-

Sirius realized, later when they had joined forces with the Gryffindor girls in one massive study group, it was the biggest deal he has ever encountered in his young life. Because if Remus didn’t get upset about the fact Sirius let himself  _ fail,  _ even if that particular detail was omitted, then the furry little problem was escalating. A  _ lot.  _ And Sirius can only pretend to cheat once.

Well, maybe twice. But McGonagall won’t buy it, and they’ll start losing House points. 

“I need to stretch my legs!” Sirius announced in the middle of Lily’s sentence. The redhead cut off abruptly, looking offended. “James, c’mon.”

James pouted but followed him obediently. “What’s up?”

“We need to help Remus  _ in  _ the Shrieking Shack. We can’t keep, like, giving him chocolate when he comes back. It’s not  _ enough,”  _ he stressed softly, making sure all of the dubious glances sent in their direction couldn’t hear any of the sketchy details. 

To make sure they’d stop listening, he raised his voice. “This is stupid! I’m just gonna quit school!” And everyone looked away pretty fast because Sirius made those proclamations at least twice a week. 

James furrowed his brow. “We will die if we try that. Everyone knows that werewolves hunt humans like cats at mice. But like… I see what you’re saying. He keeps tearing at himself because he’s stuck pacing one room. If he could be out on the grounds, though… But no one could watch over him.”

“What if he was tearing at someone  _ else?”  _ Obviously, Sirius didn’t mean they just sit there and let Remus kill them. He was certain Remus would follow in that person’s footsteps soon after, and no amount of persuading would keep the guilt from murdering his best friend, other than James. So… There had to be something  _ better. _

James threw his hands up. “I feel like if he was even allowed to go hunt fish or something, he’d be better! But what’s to stop him from either leaving Hogwarts or going into the school?”

“Do you know what would be useful? A deer.” The words spilled out of his mouth, and the plan formed itself. “I mean, it’d be able to run away before Remus could catch it. I’m, like, nine hundred percent confident a deer could take a werewolf, and I’m ten _ thousand  _ percent confident it could outrun a werewolf.”

James laughed. “Sure. Where can we get to a place where we mentally control a deer- Oh. Sirius. You’re bloody brilliant.” James started giggling like mad. 

“What? Do you know where we can find a deer?” Sirius stared at him.

“You’re so stupid clever when you need to be, you terrible git. Let’s become Animagi!” James exclaimed quietly.

It took a few seconds before Sirius broke out laughing. “That’d be  _ perfect!  _ I’m certain we’ll be something big enough to take a werewolf… Peter too.”

James gasped for breath. “I bet I’ll be a dragon.”

“I have  _ never  _ heard a dragon animagi but…” Sirius grinned. “We  _ have  _ to do this. I’m sure there are books on it somewhere around here.”

“I bet McGonagall knows! Not that she’d tell us.”

He bit down on his bottom lip, considering it. Then, he brightened. “I bet we have a book on it back home! I can smuggle it back here after Christmas! They won’t even notice one book missing out of the library! And then you can get to McGonagall during break too, because she’ll be less on edge!”

James held his hand out to shake. “Deal. We definitely can’t tell Remus though. He’ll try and stop us.”

“That’s why we gotta space it out! Wait, I had a great idea that you’ll  _ love.”  _ He couldn’t hide the smirk.

“Do tell!” James chirped excitedly.

He bit down the laughter. “You need to get Lily to schedule study sessions with Remus after break. That way, we’d guarantee get time away from him to start piecing this together.”

James clapped. “Perfect! Those two nerds totally would! But… what if Remus starts to like Lily?”

“Uh…  _ Well.”  _ Sirius really can’t decipher his thoughts about  _ that.  _ It seemed like a super great plan. Remus could become friends with her, and then she would be a semi-Marauder. Then, she could help do their homework too, and James would stop  _ moping.  _ “He won’t. He’s too cool for her.”

James huffed. “And I’m not? Well. You’re right, anyways. This will work.”

“Of course you’re not. It’s  _ you.”  _ Sirius smiled at him before glancing back at the study session. “How long do we stay away to make it believable?”

“Just gotta… Stretch the hams, ya feel?” James bent into an obnoxious lunge. “How’s the view?”

He made a face. “Shitty.”

James sneered. “Well, there’s no accounting for taste.” He stood and walked back towards their group. “I do hope Remus starts feeling better, anyhow.”

“This is the  _ way  _ to make him feel better.” Sirius paused right before they re-entered the study group. He took a few seconds to analyze Remus, who had leaned over to whisper something to Lily. Lily’s face lit up as she laughed to herself. He swallowed the disgust that always comes when he saw Lily attempt to flirt, and he rejoined the group. “What did I miss?”

Remus looked to him. “Oh, hey. Not much. Studying. Right Lily?” He smiled. 

She grinned. “I think we got more studying done with the two of you gone.”

James grunted. “Too bad. Alright Remus, quiz me on the Transfiguration material.”

Remus’s eyes lit up and he set to it, not even using the references from their books. Sirius frowned, and Marlene gently kicked at his foot beneath the table. She mouthed something at him, which he pointedly ignored in favor of playing footsie. And if Remus happened to look over and look  _ slightly  _ jealous, he was certain the rush of pride was unrelated.


	3. James

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Quidditch is for the BOYS, Alice."  
> \- M.G.M, probably

Quidditch tryouts were in little more than a few minutes. Remus was surprisingly calm about the whole thing. Unfortunately, James couldn’t say the same. This would dictate how his years here would be. He could be a boring nerd like Evans, or be a super cool person. And he was way more ready to be cool. 

He walked over to an older group of boys who were helping with the tryouts. “Alright. What’s the secret? How am I gonna make sure that people pay attention to me in this whole thing?”

“Just play well,” one of them said, his smile eerily similar to someone else’s he knew. 

“No I will, but how do I make sure that I like, wow them?” James wanted to be seen as a Seeker right away. 

He shrugged. “Fly well, and fly straight. That’s how I wowed the captain back when I tried out… And I heard, rumor has it, that’s what the  _ current  _ captain wants.”

James sighed. “Alright. Exhibit total control. I got it.” He walked back over to Remus. “We’re on our own. The older kids are no help.”

Remus cocked his head. “James, that’s the captain.”

James flushed. “Oh gosh, really? Well… that’s fine.”

“Okay, gather up! We’ll do this by year first,” the captain shouted, and the older boys nodded in agreement. After establishing zero first-years came, he narrowed his gaze upon the few second years scattered around. “Gather ‘round, second years. We’ll be establishing which positions you want to play for first.”

Remus cleared his throat when called upon.“I’ll play wherever I’m put, Captain.”

The captain looked pleased. “I like your attitude, Lupin. I’ve got an idea, maybe. Potter, McKinnon, what do you want?” 

James grinned. “Seeker. Our last one just graduated, which means that if I’m good, you’ll have me for the next six years.”

“I want Chaser, but I’m kinda indifferent,” Marlene piped up right after James finished. The captain looked between them, wrinkling his nose slightly at the drastic change in egos between the second years.

Then, he pointed over at the designated brooms. “No advantages here, so don’t bother complaining if you have a family one. We’ll all be using the training ones. Lupin, go pair up with one of the Prewetts for Beater this time around. McKinnon, Alice and Frank are over there. I’m covering Keeper, and you get to be Seeker. It’ll be a single play; I’ll lay it out, and if you can’t keep up, you’re out.”

James nodded. “Deal.” As they walked to their brooms, James leaned over to Remus. “Can’t believe they’ve got your lanky arse on Beater.”

Remus smiled. “Who knows, maybe I can be mean.”

James mounted his broom. He reminded himself how many times he had chased a snitch around the park by his parents house. He could do this. He kicked off, waving to James in the air. 

The captain blew the whistle, and they were off. While the formation specifically made the Chasers and Beaters work together, the captain insisted James just try to catch the snitch. So, at the first flash of gold, James took off.

He had caught it within the first two minutes of the game. 

“Oi, what the hell?” One of the Prewetts exclaimed. “No way!”

“Hold up.” The captain reached for the whistle hanging loosely around his neck and blew it hard. “We’re going to do that  _ again.  _ I’m not sure… Yeah, we’re going to redo that real fast. Let’s see if Potter can keep up the streak.”

James flicked his bangs out of his face. “Let’s see if any of you can keep up with  _ me.”  _ He set down on the ground and caught his breath. 

“I guarantee we can.” The captain grinned wryly before kicking off the scenario once more. This time, the flash of gold didn’t come around right away.

It did though, way up in the air. James decided to press his luck and shot straight up in the air, hand outstretched. 

Everyone saw the Snitch practically come to him, nestled pleasantly in his palm. James let out a cry of glee. The shrill of a whistle followed shortly after, and the captain ushered everyone to the ground. He studied James for a few moments. “Potter, you’re benched. Lupin, be the Seeker for a few rounds. Third years, come here.”

James let out a shout of indignation. However, he curbed his fury enough to find Sirius in the stands. 

-

“This whole school is rigged.”

“Remus and Marlene are killing it,” Sirius commented idly, leaning forward to get a closer look. While his  _ girlfriend  _ flew towards the goal and out of eyesight, his eyes remained stubbornly stuck on their friend. 

James huffed. “He’s not catching it.  _ I  _ caught it. Why are you looking at Remus so much? He hasn’t found it yet!”

“Maybe he’s being a supportive friend,” Lily commented idly. He hadn’t even  _ noticed  _ she was there, but the rest of the girls in Marlene’s dormitory had come out to watch.

“I’m mostly supportive! But…” James felt strangely insecure. “He’s not even doing anything. Has he ever even seen a Snitch up close?”

“He’s flying well,” Dorcas Meadowes interjected.

Sirius nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! I think Remus has a real chance of making the team… Don’t make that face, James, you probably could too.”

James huffed and crossed his arms. “Yeah, sure. I bet Alice will put him on the team just because she thinks he looks like candy on a broom. Right Sirius?” 

Sirius laughed awkwardly. “Sorry, mate, I heard Alice and Frank had a little thing going.”

“They do. She’s our prefect; how do you  _ not  _ know this stuff?” Dorcas interjected, giving Sirius a strange look.

James threw his hands up. “Well whatever! That’s so- ugh.” The group watched the rest of the round, watching as the captain personally congratulated Remus warmly when they landed. The scrawny boy flushed and gave the captain a quick hug.

“He didn’t even catch it!” James faked a dramatic sob. 

Sirius glanced down. “I think the captain wants you. He’s having Alice run the sessions with the older kids… They’ve apparently seen them all before.”

James looked down to see the captain waving him down. He gulped nervously and jogged down the stairs. “Hello… Captain. Sorry. I don’t know your name.”

“Matthew McGonagall.” He grinned at the horrified expression crossing James’ face. “My aunt told me a  _ lot  _ about you in her classes. I heard you, Lupin, Black, and Pettigrew are inseparable. Shame those two didn’t try out, I like having a close team. Anyway, I wanted to inform you that you’re my top pick for Seeker right now, unless one of the upperclassmen improved from last year.”

James gawked. “I- Matthew, thank you!”

“Don’t thank me yet. Cross your fingers and hope you’re still going to be the best.” Matthew glanced down at his clipboard before sighing. “A  _ second  _ year in one of the most important spots… Who would have thought?”

James smiled. “I would have. Anyways, I’ll prove you right. When do I go on?”

“After they finish that.” He gestured over at Alice eagerly commanding people on the field. A small smile crossed his face. “She will be a great captain after I graduate. So, don’t tick her off.”

“I don’t plan to. She scares me.” James laughed nervously. “I’ll go get my broom. Oh, and Captain?”

“Yes, Potter?” Matthew now settled his gaze on Remus, not bothering to look over at James.

“I… Remus is a very good friend of mine. I think he would be good on the team.”

“What about Seeker?” There was a glint in the captain’s eyes, exactly the kind his aunt got when she handed out a pop quiz.

James knew the good answer, but he went with the right one. “If he’s the best fit, it should be him.”

“Good to know. Team, come here! I think I have the perfect arrangement!” Matthew suddenly shouted. Quickly after, everyone hurried over to him.

James quickly hugged Remus. “Don’t be weird. I’m really proud of you.” 

Remus huffed him back. “You too. Wanker.”

“Nerd.”

“Okay, for Chasers, I want Alice Shortass-” Alice immediately threw something at him, but Matthew easily dodged. “Frank Longbottom, and Fabian Prewett. For Beaters, I want Gideon Prewett… And Remus Lupin. I will be Keeper… The replacements on the team go to Marlene McKinnon and our very own R. King, but nothing is going to  _ happen  _ this year, right?”

Alice snorted. “Something might happen to you, dickcheese.” 

“Kiss my ass, Alice! And Seeker will be James Potter. Thank you to everyone who tried out! Try again next year! I’d gladly get rid of Alice!” Matthew called, sparing a wink towards James.

-

James whooped, high fiving Remus. “We’re prodigies!”

Remus shoved him away. “You’re so weird. Nice job!” He swung his bat around his fingers and looked up to meet someone’s eyes in the stands. In a strange, out of character moment, he sent up a wink. James saw some Ravenclaw girl duck out of sight.

“I’m the weird one.”

“Yo,  _ Potter!”  _ cried Sirius as he sprinted onto the field. He practically tackled James down. “I knew you’d make the team!”

James hugged his best friend back fiercely. “Me too, I totally knew.” 

“So that mini freakout in the bleachers, that was just you showing off your acting chops?” Lily asked sarcastically before sauntering over to Marlene.

James stuck his tongue out at her. He let go of Sirius, careful not to be too rough on his shoulders. “Thank you, Sirius.”

“No problem. And  _ Remus!”  _ Sirius leapt over to him and grinned. “I can’t believe you made  _ Beater.  _ I guess there’s a rebellious side of you after all.”

Remus flushed, giving Sirius a hug. “Who knew?”

“This is going to be a great year.” Sirius’ smile faltered for a split second before it came back full blast.

James and Remus left the field side by side, followed by the rest of their friends, cheering them on like they were heroes. 

_ “Yeah,”  _ James thought.  _ “This is going to be a great year.”  _


	4. Lily

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so some years aren't going to be very long like second year (to be real, my least favorite is Chamber of Secrets probs because nothing really CHANGES from first to second year, but third year is a DOOZY) but next year ;) be prepared

When she first went to Hogsmeade, she was completely embarrassing. Everything here just felt so shiny and new to Lily, who never even thought magic was a possibility. Now, magic felt more alive than ever. She debated on where to spend her money, conflicted between drinking Butterbeers with the gang or getting candy to last until  _ next  _ month.

Marlene nudged her pointing to Sirius browsing the candy store with Remus. “We should go over  _ there.”  _

“You’re on the Quidditch team; you’re officially  _ cooler  _ than him. Why are you still pining over him?” groaned Lily. Still, she let Marlene drag her over while their other roommates followed with soft laughs. If only she grew closer to Mary Macdonald instead of Marlene, then maybe she wouldn’t have to deal with the marauders  _ constantly. _

“Because he’s so hot, Lily! Look at him! Short, dark brown hair, so sleek and clean.” Marlene sighed softly. “He has a nice arse too.”

“Objection!” Mary cried mockingly from behind them. She slyly pointed at Remus’s and winked. “Sirius is only  _ second  _ best.”

Marlene huffed. “We can duel this out later. Oh Sirius!” She waved dramatically, tugging the chain of girls over. Both Gryffindor boys looked at them, smiling. 

“Please, like Marlene will actually duel me,” Mary whispered in Lily’s ear. “Besides, I wouldn’t get in the way of your thing with Remus.”

“Where’s Peter and James?” Lily asked, possibly  _ way  _ too loud to avoid whatever  _ that  _ statement was. Remus wasn’t even that attractive, in the dating way. If someone  _ else  _ dated him, she’d fully agree he could make a cute boyfriend. But with her? It just came off as somewhat geeky. 

James gave a squawk of joy and ran over to the group. “The warmed butterbeers are half off! I’ve had three so far, working on my fourth!” He held up the glassy mug, gold liquid sloshing over the side a bit.

Sirius plucked it out of James’ hands, surprisingly gracefully, before knocking back at least half. “Sorry, buddy, guess they just ran out. Hey, Evans was  _ asking  _ about you.”

James grinned immediately, looking at Lily. “Oh, so I guess you found it?”

“Found  _ what?  _ And besides, I was asking about  _ Peter.  _ I noticed he wasn’t at the Quidditch tryouts,” Lily countered hotly. 

Peter awkwardly waved from behind James. “Hi! And I had to make up a test; I was sick.”

“With the plague,” Sirius gravely added.

Lily gave them a long look before turning back to James. “Found  _ what?” _

James smiled sickly sweet, patting her shoulder. “Oh, nothing. Nevermind.”

“Never mind  _ what?”  _ Lily insisted, trying to combat the furious blush starting to rise in her cheeks. It was an odd habit she picked up over the summer, and Petunia had yet to let it go. Every time she got mad, her cheeks heated up.

James tapped her nose. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head.”

“Remus, what did he do?” She spun on her heel and chose to direct all of her attention on her closest friends.

Remus fidgeted, obviously caught between them. “I-Lily, I genuinely don’t know.”

“Who knew you were whipped for Evans?” Sirius drawled out casually, getting a few giggles from the  _ traitors  _ Lily shared a room with. She nudged Dorcas, who simply shrugged.

Remus huffed, cheeks and ears turning pink. “Sirius, I am not! And you’re one to talk, drooling over Marlene like you do.”

“Yeah… Because Marlene is  _ hot.  _ Lily kinda looks like a tomato on her good days.” He winked at Marlene, and she blew a kiss back.

James stepped in at that. “No, not a tomato. More like a… redhead.” 

“Thank you, Captain Obvious.” Lily crossed her arms and looked elsewhere. It  _ shouldn’t  _ be that offensive, but it’d be nice to have a friend instantly have her back. Yet, Dorcas and Mary stayed silent, and none of the Marauders ever liked her enough to call her pretty. Merlin, when did she get so insecure? “I’m going to go see Severus.  _ Hopefully,  _ whatever James did won’t surface.”

She heard Remus stammering something as she walked away, but she couldn’t tell what he said. She bit down on her lip before charging up to the small pack of Slytherins. “Hey, Severus!”

“Wait, what the  _ hell,  _ Evans?” Sirius called after her. 

Narcissa looked up, precariously curved eyelashes fanning her eyelids. “Umm… Severus. You know this… girl?”

“Vaguely,” Severus said instantly, looking anywhere  _ but  _ Lily.

She froze, blinking at him. “What?”

Narcissa elbowed Lucius Malfoy not-so-subtly. “Severus, what kind of people are you  _ willingly  _ surrounding yourself with?” She asked, sounding overly kind.

“I…” Lily stared at Severus for a split second before grinning crookedly. “Sorry, we’re just  _ classmates,  _ y’know? I missed yesterday, so I wanted to see if I could get the notes. I’ll just ask… Someone else.” 

Severus kept his eyes trained on the ground. “Yeah, I’ll get them to you later.”

Lily felt a tap on her shoulder. James was standing behind her, holding up a large caramel lollipop. The thing is, he wasn’t looking at Severus at all, only her. Not taunting or egging him on. James held it out to her, a bit shamefully. 

“An apology,” he mumbled.

“So what?” She asked after a second, cautiously taking it. It was odd though. She didn’t doubt it was  _ actual  _ caramel, and she didn’t even think it would be a prank. 

“I don’t want you to be mad. Also, I didn’t actually do anything earlier. I just wanted to make you nervous.” James looked her in the eye and smiled. “This isn’t a prank either.”

“So did Remus recommend it, or do you have a secret sweet tooth, Potter?” Lily licked the lollipop and, pleasantly surprised at how  _ normal  _ it tasted, muttered ‘thanks’.

James shook his head, leading her back to the group. “Marlene mentioned a couple- er, just now that you like caramel, so… Yeah.”

“Oh, Marlene suggested it? It makes sense…” A smile pulled at her lips. “I’m shocked you listened to it, though, I’d assume you’d go for whatever candy was cheapest.”

James scoffed, self-assuredness returning. “I’m no cheapskate. When a gentleman needs to make amends with a lady, he goes for the personal gift, not the least expensive one. That there’s right off the dome,” he proclaimed.

Lily made a face at him. “I think I preferred you without the ego.”

They returned to the group, finding the Gryffindors huddled around Remus and Mary, who were engaged in a fierce Rock-Paper-Scissors contest. The kids exploded when Mary won, for what seemed to be at least the second time.

“No, she can’t be the champion again!” Remus cried out.

Mary cheered. “Strategy,  _ bitches!” _

“It’s a game of chance!” Dorcas wailed.

Sirius shook his head. “No, this game has more tactics than  _ chess.”  _

James shook his head. “Don’t even start.”

“I’m shocked you even know what chess is,” Lily teased.

Remus looked up. “Oh, you two came back! Great, we were just about to have a karaoke off.”

“It’s guaranteed to be weird since  _ half  _ the people here are purebloods and only know witches’ and wizards’ musics, and the other half is pretty much muggle-born and are going to sing weird stuff,” Marlene proclaimed.

James laughed aloud. “That’s right, Marlene.”

“It’ll be great.” Lily cheerfully threw her arms around Dorcas and Mary. “Let’s go.”

 


End file.
